Do you feel that NCL has the smallest rooms compared to other cruise lines?

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

Rick: Rah Rah! :) I love that you are so enamored of NCL suites, but I can assure you that even though I could easily afford it, it will never happen, for too many reasons to get into here.

 

Of notice might be my rating of the cruise we took on NCL Sun in my signature line as being the worst cruise experience to date. I've only taken 3 NCL cruises so I don't think I have enough NCL experience to qualify as a cheerleader. I like to have the best, that's all. And when I find something that exceeds my expectations, I tout that product so that others can simililarly share the experience I had. If I were selfish, I'd tell everyone how terrible it was so that I didn't create competition for myself. [by the way everyone, the beaches in Aruba are just terrible...I've been there 13 times and just hate it...don't go] ;)

 

My point was that, as with anything, you can have as much or as little space as you choose...you can choose to live in a 2 bedroom condo...or you can have 6 bedrooms (for 2 adults and 3 cats)...up to you. (PS if you choose the latter, please consider the amount of cleaning time, ugh!)

[newmexicoNita]

Can't compare it to anything else as we only took our first cruise last month, but the biggest negative for us was having two adults and an 11yo in the balcony cabin on the Star - it wasn't easy getting ready, one person trying to get into the wardrobe drawers when another was trying to exit the bathroom. Why do they put those shelves inside the wardrobe anyway, they're so awkward to get into? Wouldn't it be easier to swop things around to have them facing out into the room?:rolleyes:

 

DD was too long for the sofabed, and if I didn't shuffle right up the bed my feet would hang off - and I'm only 5'4"

 

I had read the Star was built for the Asian market so everything was a little smaller, I didn't think I'd notice it, but tbh I did.

WEll many do fine with 3 in a cabin, but yes, it is tight. I am sure you have read all these responses. If you had, you would realize this is the biggest downer in cruising. I can remember when our family went camping in a 16 ft trailer and there were 5 of us..Boy, talk about crowded. Yes, the sofa beds are pretty darn small.

 

As for the Star being biult for Asians, nope, wrong ship. That is the Spirit.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I'm not sure about the other ships in the fleet, but I did think that both times I was on the Spirit, my inside cabin was smaller than ones I had on Princess and Royal Caribbean. I'll be better able to judge when I'm on the Jewel next week. I've been told that NCL has the biggest suites though.

 

I haven't toured or seen an inside cabin on Princess, but have actually had one on RCI. the RCI cabins are even smaller than the Spirit. Well, of course, again, it depends on the class of ship. Some are larger...RCI is noted for having exceptionally small inside cabins.

 

Nita

[Hikini]

Sometimes it's not necessarily all about the numbers (square footage) but how the space is planned out. That can make a major difference and there is no way to determine that until you've actually experienced the space for yourself.

 

But I'll stick with one of my favorite lines and modify it a little bit. Cruising in even a tiny cabin is better than working, ANY day!

[collegecruiser346]

I haven't toured or seen an inside cabin on Princess, but have actually had one on RCI. the RCI cabins are even smaller than the Spirit. Well, of course, again, it depends on the class of ship. Some are larger...RCI is noted for having exceptionally small inside cabins.

 

Nita

 

On Princess I was on the Caribbean Princess, and Royal Caribbean was the Mariner of the Seas. I'll have more to compare to once I'm on the Jewel.

[Kylie]

The smallest balcony we ever had was on RCCL Serenade of the Seas. We have sailed 5 times on NCL and always had an efficient-sized balcony.

[swedish weave]

As for the Star being biult for Asians, nope, wrong ship. That is the Spirit.

 

Nita

 

Nita -- I have to disagree with you about the Star. It was built for Star cruises. That is the reason none of the cabin numbers end in 4 or the 40's. 4 is a bad luck number in Chinese superstitions. Bill

[MMastell]

Yes: Norwegian Spirit was originally Star Cruises' Superstar Leo. The open area in front of the stage in the theater was originally a tiger cage. It was transferred to NCL, in 2004, after the Pride of America sank in the shipyard and a ship was needed to fill it's place in the new NCLA in Hawaii. The Norwegian Sky was renamed and took that spot in Hawaii.

 

The Star and Dawn were the first ships built for Freestyle cruising.

 

Take care,

Mike

[Planer's Edge]

Yes: Norwegian Spirit was originally Star Cruises' Superstar Leo. The open area in front of the stage in the theater was originally a tiger cage. It was transferred to NCL, in 2004, after the Pride of America sank in the shipyard and a ship was needed to fill it's place in the new NCLA in Hawaii. The Norwegian Sky was renamed and took that spot in Hawaii.

 

The Star and Dawn were the first ships built for Freestyle cruising.

 

Take care,

Mike

 

Just to back you up, here are few facts:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Star

This ship entered service at the end of 2001. She was originally intended to operate with Star cruises under the name SuperStar Libra, but six months before delivery it was decided that the ship would be assigned to Star Cruises' subsidiary,Norwegian Cruise Line. The vessel was christened at the Port of Miami in a dual ceremony with another new NCL vessel, constructed at Germany's Lloyd Werft ( or was it the Meyer Werft yards? ) shipyard, the Norwegian Sun.

 

PE

[alwalaska]

OK - To summarize all the previous posts using Wiki for a reference (which I know is not necessarily always correct, but the easiest to find)

 

Many of the previous posts were correct, but it still sounded like an argument to me, so the mom in me decided to jump in and give the synopsis that shows many of you were correct. :)

 

Star

History

This ship entered service at the end of 2001. She was originally intended to operate with Star Cruises under the name SuperStar Libra, but six months before delivery it was decided that the ship would be assigned to Star Cruises' subsidiary, Norwegian Cruise Line. The vessel was christened at the Port of Miami in a dual ceremony with another new NCL vessel, constructed at Germany's Lloyd Werft shipyard, the Norwegian Sun.

Vessel class

Norwegian Star was the first of two Libra-class vessels constructed at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany; the second is Norwegian Dawn (known as the Dawn class in NCL publicity because these Libra-class vessels were originally to be in service with Star Cruises until NCL assignment).[1]

Spirit

 

History

The vessel was constructed by Meyer Werft in Germany. Named SuperStar Leo in 1998, the vessel was the first of Star Cruises' Leo-class. She was first based in Hong Kong for almost five years.

In 2004, Norwegian Cruise Line (a subsidiary company owned by Star Cruises) was planning to launch Pride of America. However, just prior to completion, the vessel partially sank when a storm hit the Lloyd Werft shipyards. To meet the already booked cruises for Pride of America, SuperStar Leo was transferred to the NCL fleet, and after only two weeks of refits, emerged as Norwegian Spirit.

In January 2006, Norwegian Spirit encountered a rogue wave off the coast of Tortola.

In 2005 Norwegian Spirit hit a pier in Juneau, causing minor damage. In 2007, Norwegian Spirit again struck a pier, this time in New York Harbor. In both cases, repairs were made to the ship. On May 25 2008 at approx. 9:00 am the Spirit contacted Pier 90 in New York City at the end of an 8 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. She damaged the parking garage support columns and the bow of the ship. The incident happened exactly 5 years to the day since the SS Norway experienced a boiler explosion in Miami.

Vessel Class

Norwegian Spirit is the first ship of this design. She was followed by SuperStar Virgo, her twin sister ship which is with Star Cruises. No other ships of this particular design were constructed.

 

Sky

Norwegian Sky is a Sky class cruise ship owned and operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was originally ordered by Costa Cruises as Costa Olympia from the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Germany, but she was completed in 1999 by the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany for the Norwegian Cruise Line under the name Norwegian Sky. Between 2004 and 2008 she sailed as Pride of Aloha for NCL America.

Concept and construction

The ship that eventually became known as Norwegian Sky was originally ordered in December 1993 by Costa Cruises from the Bremer Vulkan shipyard in Bremen, Germany as the second in a pair of sister ships. The first sister, Costa Victoria, was delivered in July 1996. Construction of the second sister, Costa Olympia, had started several months before, but by July 1996 Bremer Vulkan was experiencing severe financial difficulties, and work on the Costa Olympia was suspended when only 35% of the ship was completed. On 1996-10-06 the incomplete hull was floated out of drydock and subsequently laid up.[1][2]

Costa Cruises decided not to purchase the unfinished ship, and the Costa Olympia remained laid up at Bremer Vulkan until December 1997, when Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) purchased her. The Costa Olympia was redesigned as the Norwegian Sky by Tillberg Design (who had also been responsible for her original planned design as Costa Olympia).[1] On 1998-03-08 the ship was towed to Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany where her construction was completed.[2] In 1998 NCL ordered two additional ships of the Norwegian Sky design. The first of these was delivered in 2001 as the Norwegian Sun while the order for the second one was cancelled.[1] The Norwegian Sky underwent her sea trials on 1999-06-17, and was delivered to NCL on 1999-06-28.[2]

Star Cruises

Star Cruises (SEHK: 678) (SGX: S21) is the third-largest cruise line in the world behind Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises, and dominates the Asia-Pacific market. Star Cruises owns 50 % of the Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America, and 100 % of Cruise Ferries brands with a total combined fleet of 22 ships and over 35,000 berths. The company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange.

Star Cruises is credited with almost single handedly developing the cruise industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Its foray into the global shipping market has allowed it to tap into lucrative and more mature markets in North America and Europe. Its services cater to Asian passengers as well as to North Americans, Europeans and Australians interested in Asian destinations.

The president and the CEO of Star Cruises company is Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the son of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the founder of Malaysia's Genting Highlands.

[Planer's Edge]

OK - To summarize all the previous posts using Wiki for a reference

 

 

...gee, didn't I just do this. :rolleyes:

 

PE

[alwalaska]

...gee' date=' didn't I just do this. :rolleyes:

 

PE[/color']

 

No. You only posted about 1 ship and the person before you posted about a different ship, so it sounded like you were trying to refute what he said, rather than adding to it. I hoped by listing all 3 ships' full descriptions side by side it would stop the arguing.

 

Sorry, I guess I was wrong.:rolleyes:

[Planer's Edge]

No. You only posted about 1 ship and the person before you posted about a different ship, so it sounded like you were trying to refute what he said, rather than adding to it. I hoped by listing all 3 ships' full descriptions side by side it would stop the arguing.

 

Sorry, I guess I was wrong.:rolleyes:

 

Sorry, I meant to quote Swedish Weave and back up his statement about the Star.

 

oops!!:o

 

PE

[alwalaska]

Sorry' date=' I meant to quote Swedish Weave and back up his statement about the Star.

 

oops!!:o

 

PE[/color']

 

Sorry - Ooops on my part too. :D It was fun learning all this history. I can't wait to check out the Spirit. I have heard amazing things about her and we have one of the super big interior cabins and it was before NCL decided to put them in a more expensive category, so it is a win-win-win situation.

[travelbugg4life]

No! On RCCL Majesty of the Seas inside cabins 119sqft & ocean views 122sq ft...NCL much Larger.

[newmexicoNita]

No! On RCCL Majesty of the Seas inside cabins 119sqft & ocean views 122sq ft...NCL much Larger.

 

Those are the smallest we have ever had. We had to literally climb over the end of the bed. There was no room to store any luggage. The Majesty was a nice ship but the cabins totally sucked.

 

Nita

[keep on cruisin]

We did the 4 night on the Sky last year.

 

The room is fine if you have only 2 people.

We had our son with us, and when you open the sofa bed you can't walk by to get to the bathroom.

 

We actually ended up taking the mattress from the sofabed, and putting it on the floor.

 

My parents had our nephew with them in their room and had the same problem.

 

No problem with storage, even for 3 people.

 

The Spirit had the sofa bed on the balcony side which allowed easy access for the bathroom at night and just a tight squeeze for the balcony.

 

This might be an option for the sky, but to be honest, we were having to much fun on the rest of the trip to worry about measuring for future renovations.

 

Happy Sailing

[artvlay]

Hands down NCL has the smallest cabins. The smallest cabin I experienced other that NCL was the Empress of the Seas, an older ship that has since been taken out of RCI's fleet.

[cod]

Alwalaska, please beware of at least one of the larger insides on the Spirit. We were in 9207 and the vibration was terrible. We couldn't even sleep the first night. I was putting paper wedges everywhere to try and stop the rattling..in the shower doors and around the safe and closet doors. There were a few wall and ceiling panels I could do nothing about so I tried to ignore them. Laying in bed, I was actually jiggling.

 

I hoped that it had something to do with the speed we were going at while heading down the Mississippi. Unfortunately, open waters the next morning failed to rectify the situation. I complained and they moved us without any hassle so I think the problems with that particular cabin must be well known.

 

I have no knowledge about the other larger insides...hopefully they are okay.

 

Good luck!

[Barb Nahoumi]

The size of the room hardly matters to me. I'm only in there to sleep.

 

My only requirement is that it is an outside cabin, with a window or balcony.

[newmexicoNita]

Hands down NCL has the smallest cabins. The smallest cabin I experienced other that NCL was the Empress of the Seas, an older ship that has since been taken out of RCI's fleet.

 

I realize this is a subject that can be debated all day, but you are dead wrong: have you even sailed the Sovergn of the Sea or the Majesty of the Sea (both RCI ships?) have you done an actural conparison of sizes depending on class and when the ships were built? I am guessing you have not. This isn't saying NCL ships have large cabins, they certainly do not, but they are almost identical to other lines: Here are just a couple examples. I am using them because these are ships we have sailed:

 

NCL Sun versus Celebrity Conny: both ships are similar in size and age;

 

Sun: Balcony cabine: 221 sq ft including balcony Connie: 208 including balcony

outside: 170 sq ft Connie: 170 sq ft

 

NCL Star versus Princess Golden Golden: 214

Balcony: 203 sq ft outside: 168 sq ft

outside: 159 sq ft

The exception to this probably is the Spirit. The cabins are on the smaller size, but certainly not the smallest at sea. HAL has the largest cabins with Carnivals being a little larger as well, but really with the exception of HAL there is so little difference. By the way, there are a few inside cabins on the Spirit that are much larger than inside cabins on almost any other ship.

Maybe you have cruised different ships than any listed. Remember we are talking the basic, mass marketed lines, not the superior or luxury lines like Oceana, Cunard, Crystal, etc.

 

Nita

[Don Haynes]

As I noted earlier in this thread, when you consider most ships have similar dimenisons in beam, and similar layouts with two halls with basically four rows of cabins lengthwise down the ship, with the narrow side of a cabin facing the halls, the cabins are in the same vicinity in length... NCL tends to have narrower cabins of a foot or two with similar lengths of the other cruise lines. As far as livable space, losing a foot or two in width of a twenty foot cabin in length can add up to twenty or forty square feet...

 

Can most of us live in a 160 square feet cabin instead of a 180 square feet cabin... YES... That one foot in width isn't all that important...

 

If it is a problem, they must be space hogs...

[newmexicoNita]

As I noted earlier in this thread, when you consider most ships have similar dimenisons in beam, and similar layouts with two halls with basically four rows of cabins lengthwise down the ship, with the narrow side of a cabin facing the halls, the cabins are in the same vicinity in length... NCL tends to have narrower cabins of a foot or two with similar lengths of the other cruise lines. As far as livable space, losing a foot or two in width of a twenty foot cabin in length can add up to twenty or forty square feet...

 

Can most of us live in a 160 square feet cabin instead of a 180 square feet cabin... YES... That one foot in width isn't all that important...

 

If it is a problem, they must be space hogs...

 

I know you have a better clue than many about what the difference is and I am inclined to beleive you, but I still think, the difference (either way) is so manute, it makes no difference. As I posted, it does denpend on the ship, the age and in some cases the layout. We found the Golden Princess to be unbelievably small and why?? so much waisted space in the dressing/closet area. The only comparison I did not do was inside as we normally do not do inside cabins.

 

Nita

[klingoncruiser]

I think it may depend on the ship. The Spirit has without a doubt the smallest balcony rooms I have ever seen. The bathroom is even worse. You had to crawl over the extra bed to get to the balcony when it was out. You had to turn sideways to get out of the toilet area. Just plain silly.

 

That being said, we will be sailing her again, but understand how inadequate the room will be.:rolleyes:

[jerseyjjs]

NCL Epic, 100-128 The 100' cabins are the single passenger studios.

 

 

 

Even at 128 sq. ft, that's ridiculously small. But that seems to be the way of the newer ships. Built the ship bigger, build the cabins smaller and bumrush in the livestock.